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Ten go to Torver. 10 people attended the first meet of the year. A Friday afternoon scramble on Dow Crag gave a taste of future winds on the top. On Saturday most people headed up towards Dow Crag with various return routes between the Old Man and Wetherlam. After a month of hurricane force winds and rain, the wind on the Old Man was mere gale force, however on a positive note - NO RAIN! Just one cautionary note - Never open out the map in these conditions, Brian now has two fragments after carefully removing it from its map case to refold it! Luke arrived in the evening bearing wine, cake and puddings for all, which we consumed around the roaring pot-belly stove. I was in my element. On Sunday the rain returned and the wind increased – those that didn’t go home thought that this was an ideal opportunity to practice navigation skills and kite-flying with a pub lunch in Seathwaite before more of the same on the return trip. <John Isard> Lunar Eclipse in Cwellyn. Intimidated by mixed weather reports, only five came to the Oread's cottage in Rhyd Ddu. The 'early birds' enjoyed fair weather on the pinnacles of the Needle's Eye Arête above Ogwen and exploring the Copper Mines of Nantgwynant. Saturday promised the best weather, so three traversed the Nantlle Ridge. However the initial scramble up Craig Fawr was far too serious to complete and a disorderly retreat followed without any mishaps. Others explored Anglesey and the scars of the former Snowdon-top cafe. An evening dash to watch the moon rise from the summit of Yr Aran was spoilt by drifting low clouds and the summit view was unimpressive. The same clouds obscured the lunar eclipse from the drunken revellers outside the Cwellyn Arms later that night and anticipated tomorrow's storms. The weather forecast for Sunday had been appalling, but the clear skies and brisk winds tempted a party to try the Snowdon Horseshoe. By the time we arrived at the Pen y Pass car park the rain was horizontal and the wind had become gale force. (Perhaps the Met Office get it right sometimes.) The grand plan turned into a forest walk in the Gwydyr Forest taking in the Swallow Falls in spate and the shops of Betws y Coed. <John Isard> Lowstern near Clapham in the Yorkshire Dales April 27th-29th. Nine members attended the meet. The weather was predominantly warm and sunny but a little windy on the high ground. The fields were full of young lambs and gas pipelines under construction. Saturday -The warm weather and long hours of daylight encouraged some longish walks. Two people walked the round trip of Ingleborough and Pen-y-Ghent combined with scrambling on Pen-y-Ghent and bouldering in Hull Pot. Others ascended only Ingleborough combined with sunbathing in a sheltered spot. The Forest of Bowland was also visited, as was the New Inn in the pretty village of Clapham. Saturday night was spent as usual putting the world to rights round the comfortable furniture of the lovely hut, with a lot of good food, wine and high quality chocolate being consumed. Sunday - A gentler day for most, as usual. Some paid the £4 to do the attractive waterfalls walk in Ingleton, almost being tempted enough to swim in one of the plunge pools. Ingleborough and the Forest of Bowland were also revisited with a bit of climbing on Cold Stone Crag. <Ges Atherton> June storms in Langdale. An appalling weather forecast and a late date change reduced the faithful to five. However two early arrivals spent a pleasant Friday walking the Langdale Horseshoe before driving round to Low Hall Garth in Little Langdale Saturday's storm was late and as bad as predicted, but this didn't deter two members from testing their navigation skills on various sections of the Langdale Horseshoe. The others contented themselves with low level walks to Skelwith Bridge and Tarn Hows followed by a shopping trip to Keswick punctuated with a visit to a tea shop with a chocolate fountain. Nobody was prepared to wait around for the promised clearance on Sunday afternoon, so we all returned home early. <John Isard> Heathy Lea Cottage in July. A wonderfully atmospheric Victorian sawmill on the Chatsworth Estate the hut is the old sawers house attached to the mill and the venue is dominated by the sound of water still rushing through the mill race. The club arrived in dribs and drabs on Friday evening, greeted by the customary glass of red. The area is scenic rather than mountainous and on Saturday, members radiated for walks in all directions. Our party headed north struggling initially with extreme river flows and washed out bridges eventually walking along Gardoms Edge, Curbar Edge, Baslow Edge and Froggatt Edge, to reach Upper Padley railway station and café for an unaccustomed egg and chip lunch. PM, we meandered back via east and west sides of the Derwent valley to the hut. Saturday evening enjoyed casoullet, red wine and seasonal fruit pie. Sunday. After fixing Brian’s flat tyre, some members’ departed to Wales and the remainder explored the Emperor Lake and Swiss lake on the Chatsworth Estate. Perhaps not the most taxing weekend but certainly convivial. <John Clark> Pembroke in August.. Atlantic storms continue to blight this summer and another appalling forecast reduced the party to only five. We were booked into the Nine Wells campsite between Solva and St David's and both cars arrived on Friday to catch the one decent day. Some went for quick run along the Coast Path before repairing to Porth Clais to climb on the friendly sandstone slabs. After dodging showers for a few hours, climbing was abandoned. Off to St David's to shop for the evening's barbeque followed by surfing at Whitesands Bay. The waves were adequate for the novice 'boogie boarders' under Linda's expert tutelage. Unfortunately the showers changed to heavy rain and the barbeque became curry buffet at the The Harbour Inn in Solva. Overnight, a strong sou'westerley gale overwhelmed several tents in the campsite and converted one of ours to a 'water feature'. Hoping that the storm had blown through early, Saturday was spent on the Coast Path followed by sightseeing in St David's and more surfing at Whitesands Bay. The waves were much stronger and more forgiving of the novices' bad timing, so we all displayed greater competence. That evening, we enjoyed the postponed barbeque before the showers resumed. As Sunday dawned after another stormy night, we had all had enough and went home. <John Isard> Dolgellau's Mountains. Five arrived at The Mountain Club's secluded hut at the head of Cwm Cywarch and made plans for the weekend. When the climbers realised that they had no guidebook for the impressive Craig Cywarch looming over the hut, the New Routes book was located and the original description of Will-o'-the-Wisp duly transcribed. Saturday dawned sunny with blue skies and the parties scattered, one for the classic round of Cwm Cywarch including both of the magnificent Arans, two for Dolgellau and the Mawddach Estuary and two for a day on John Sumner's contribution to Classic Rock. The route description omitted the descent, so an escape was effected up 700 foot of steep bilberry and heather covered crags (waist high in places but ripe with fruit) to rejoin the Cwm Cywarch horseshoe. Half way round, the weather deteriorated and as we descended through the mizzle, we caught up with a colleague returning from an afternoon nap near Aran Benllyn. On Sunday, the weather was not looking encouraging, so two decided to head home whilst the others tackled Cadair Idris from the National Trust Car Park. One walked over the top to descend down the Foxes Track whilst the others planned to climb Table Buttress Direct followed by the Cyfrwy Arete. The first climb was elusive and when found, it proved to be a bit greasy in the mist. The rain waited until the Arete was gained and swiftly became horizontal. An unorthodox traverse revealed some startled sheep and an easy way off the mountain, to rendezvous at the Gwernan Lake Hotel with the sensible third of our party plus our car! What a nice man. <John Isard> Autumn Sun in Newlands Valley. The advance party of three rushed to Buttermere to enjoy Friday's promised sun, but most of the tour round Grasmoor and Crummock Water was spent in mizzle. The fine weather didn't arrive until the evening as they opened up the remote Carlisle MC hut for the remaining ten members and prepared two birthday celebrations. A glorious morning dawned on Saturday though one expected member was missing (it later transpired that he was in a different part of the Lake District). Everybody walked variations on the Newlands and Coledale 'horseshoes' including scrambles on Eel Crags and Dale Head Pillar. That evening a large group watched the Rugby World Cup final at The Royal Oak in Braithwaite before returning to the hut for balloons, cake and 'bubbly'. Sunday had a relaxed start combining hut cleaning with visits from members spending Half-Term in Cumbria and a surprise reunion with a former member on a SARDA training day. Eventually we scattered on our various walks from Buttermere to Blencathra and the weather improved from overcast to fine. <John Isard> Christmas Dinner Meet at Ribblehead (November 23/24th 2007). The Dinner Meet and 25th Anniversary Meet was held at the famous Station Inn at Ribblehead Viaduct (North Yorks). The Innkeeper was welcoming the log fire warm and the food was good. The bunkhouse accommodation was cramped and tired looking but did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of the club members. Members trickled in over the course of Friday eve and the atmosphere in the bar was relaxed. Saturday dawned wet foggy and windy – but did not deter some of the hardy souls. Stuart and James set off early to do the Three Peaks and returned after dark having completed them successfully. The bulk of the club walked Whernside by various routes and the less intrepid did the odd teashop traverse in Ingleton and Settle. Following a lively AGM, the now well-groomed members attended an experiential DIY cocktail party. Members were enthusiastic in their quest for the unusual and sometimes weird drinks. Brian was given an award for the member who had attended every meet. Well-done Brian. Ann was mentioned for having inappropriate equipment. After the meal Brian gave a humorous history of the club and some of its characters - which greatly amused the members. After Sunday breakfast Ges, escorted by an AA man, left for home and a large number of the remaining group set off for Pen-y-ghent, which made an enjoyable end to the weekend. <Ann Clark> |